Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-27

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show the site of a farm in 1950 and the same site today.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.



 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The picture illustrates about the plans of Beechwood farm's site in the year 1950 comparing to today's look.

Overall, the differences made to various parts of the Beechwood farm since 1950 till today.

First and foremost, the track at the middle of the park has been converted to the road . The new fruit shop is been constructed in the block of the fruit trees. Soft fruits and vegetables did not get any changes including the river flowing beside them. The barn has been shifted from the end of the track to connecting it with the middle of the road by replacing it with the holiday cottages.

There has been nothing changed with the farmhouse and chickens. The major changes has been mad with the sheep area. They have added 2 parkings at the both ends for the visitors who visits the camping field. From the perspective of environment they installed solar panels at right corner.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the transformation, such as the conversion of the track to a road, the addition of the fruit shop, and the new parking areas. However, the overview is incomplete and grammatically fragmented, failing to provide a clear summary of the overall trends. Some details are slightly inaccurate or confusing, such as the description of the barn relocation. To reach a higher band, ensure the overview highlights the most significant changes (e.g., the transition from a purely agricultural site to one catering to tourism) and ensure all descriptions of spatial changes are precise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally awkward, such as 'First and foremost' followed by a list of changes. The second paragraph is a sentence fragment rather than a complete overview, which disrupts the logical flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when describing the movement of the barn. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. Phrases like 'differences made to various parts' and 'nothing changed with' are quite basic. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'major changes has been mad' (spelling error) and 'at the both ends'. While the student successfully uses terms like 'solar panels' and 'holiday cottages', the range is limited. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise verbs for describing changes, such as 'transformed', 'replaced', or 'expanded', and pay closer attention to word formation and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('major changes has been mad'), incorrect passive voice construction ('is been constructed'), and missing articles or prepositions ('at the middle of the park'). The sentence structure is often repetitive. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to focus on consistent subject-verb agreement, correct tense usage for describing past and present states, and proofreading for basic mechanical errors.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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